Consumer Electronics Show 2013

The gloves are also specially wired so they can be used to control smartphone screens - which usually struggle to recognise the touch of a glove - something that's likely to be a bigger advantage in colder countries than Australia.

The device was first shown off at Berlin's IFA 2012 consumer electronics show, and has been available since October.

But not all reviews have been kind.

Brian Heater of tech blog Engadget said then that he had trouble hearing what the person at the other end of the line was saying to him when using the device. But that may have just been because he was on a noisy showfloor.

Of course, how you look walking around speaking into your hand might be another hurdle to the device's take-up more widely.

CES opened its doors on Tuesday, with organisers expecting a crowd of around 150,000 people.